Newsletter
Key Highlights * Deregulation is re-emerging as a structural policy shift, driven by court rulings, executive action, and economic conditions rather than short-term political cycles. * A 2024 Supreme Court decision limiting regulatory authority has fundamentally reshaped the balance of power between federal agencies and the judiciary. * Industries with historically
Macro Observations
Key Highlights * The DOJ’s criminal inquiry into Fed Chair Jerome Powell marks an unprecedented challenge to Federal Reserve independence.¹ * Powell argues the investigation is a political pretext tied to pressure for interest-rate cuts rather than genuine misconduct.² * Market confidence in U.S. monetary institutions is central to dollar
Newsletter
Key Highlights * Recent SEC agenda items and public statements signal a shift toward streamlined regulation and a renewed focus on capital formation and market efficiency.¹ * Enforcement priorities appear to be narrowing, with fewer actions tied to technical violations and greater emphasis on cases involving clear investor harm.³⁻⁴ * Heavily regulated industries
Closing Thoughts for the Week
Are markets rising for the right reasons?
Newsletter
For most of 2022 and 2023, private-equity firms found themselves in an uncomfortable position: plenty of companies to sell, but almost no market willing to buy. Rising interest rates, shaky economic conditions, and a frozen IPO window left sponsors holding aging assets far longer than intended. By late 2025,
Lead-Lag Live
The retail brokerage landscape is entering a new phase. Artificial intelligence is no longer just a research aid or a chatbot layered onto an existing platform. It is increasingly becoming the interface through which investors research ideas, construct portfolios, and execute complex decisions that once required teams of analysts or
Newsletter
Key Highlights * Market leadership in 2025 has shifted away from mega-cap growth stocks toward small-caps, value-oriented sectors, and emerging markets. * The rotation reflects improving risk appetite and broader market participation rather than a move toward defensive positioning. * Small-cap and emerging-market strength has historically aligned with
Leaders-Laggards
Key Highlights * A multi-year global rearmament cycle is underway, driven by active wars, renewed great-power rivalry, and depleted military inventories.¹ * Defense spending growth is increasingly structural rather than cyclical, with record budgets and long-dated procurement commitments.¹² * Market pricing remains uneven, leaving several strategically critical aerospace and defense
Lead-Lag Live
Lead-Lag Live Recap: Hype vs. Reality in AI Investing
Weekly Signals
Key Highlights * The JOJO.INDEX has shifted into “junk-off,” signaling increased probability of near-term volatility. * Utility stock leadership triggered the rotation, a historically reliable early warning signal. * Credit spreads remain near historic lows, leaving little margin for error. * Investor sentiment shows extreme optimism despite signs of economic cooling.
Closing Thoughts for the Week
Major markets closed the year on an uneasy note as a thinly traded, holiday-shortened week delivered a reality check to 2025’s late-cycle rally. The S&P 500 slipped roughly 1% for the week, its first weekly decline in five weeks, while the Nasdaq fell closer to
Global View
The closing stretch of 2025 has been defined by record equity prices, broadening market participation, and an easing inflation backdrop that few anticipated a year ago. Central banks across developed markets have either paused or begun reversing tightening cycles, while investors have embraced a risk-on posture that has pushed